Tessa Johnson

Tessa Johnson grew up in Highlands Ranch, Colorado and is now living in Chicago, Illinois. Upon moving to Chicago, Tessa realized the want to be surrounded by plant life - living in the city makes that near to impossible so Tessa has found herself creating her own type of botanical reality. Tessa's work has evolved from painting portraits in oil to working on large-scale, time intensive works in charcoal and conte crayon.

“Since I was little I’ve always had an affinity for flowers and plant life. My mom always had them in our house and I would often help her garden outside in the spring and summer time. I think most humans have an inherent attraction to plant life and that is because it is something we have to have in order to live. There is something about creating artwork that has the ability to take one vein of life and divert it into a completely new path that I find utterly impressive, intriguing and beautiful."

BFA, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, 2018

2013 - An Artistic Discovery - 6th Congressional District Art Competition 1st Place

2013 - 2014 - U.S. Capitol Building, Washington, D.C. - Congressional Art Awards - 1 Year Exhibition

2014 - An Artistic Discovery - 4th Congressional District Art Competition 1st Place

2014 - Denver Art Museum - Selected Works Exhibition - The Scholastic Art Awards

2014 - 2015 - U.S. Capitol Building, Washington, D.C. -Congressional Art Awards - 1 Year Exhibition

2014 - Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design - Gold Key Scholastic Art & Writing Competition

2014 - Continental League Art Show Denver, CO - 1st Place & Best in Show 2014

2015 - School of The Art Institute of Chicago - ArtBash Exhibition Window Display 2015

2016 - Visual Culture - Art Wanted Group Exhibition

2018 - Bachelor of Fine Art Group Exhibition